Rail joint parting grinder



Dec. 5, 1933. SOLDHAM HAL 1,937,564

RAIL JOINT PARTING GRINDER Filed-Dec. 27, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORSI BY W ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 5, 1933- s. OLDHAM, ET AL RAIL JOINT PARTING GRINDER 28 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2'7. 19

. I 34 k 0 M04444 INVENTORS BY J 2 ATTORNEYS. I

Patented Dec. 5, 1933 RAIL J OIN '1- PAR'IING GRINDER.

Samuel-Oldham, Chicago, and Frank C. Hasse, La 'Grange,.Ill., assignors to The OxWeld Railroad Service Company, a corporation of D813! ware I Application December 27, 1928 I Serial No. 328,711

3 Claims. (01. 51-178) This invention pertains to grinding machines and more specifically to such a machine that is adapted for being transported along a railroad track and used to grind out the joints between 6 rail ends.

When railroadrails are in service the ends wear much. faster than the rest of, the rail on account. of the hammering they receive as the car wheels pass over the joints or spaces between 10 the ends of adjoining rails. When the ends of rails become worn it has been found that their life may be lengthened by building up the worn rail ends by one of the fusion Welding processes and then grinding the added metal down to the II original contour line of the rail. In building up the ends of the rails the joint or' space between their ends is frequently filled with metal so that there is not enough space between the railends to allow for expansion. I-Ieretofore, this metal has been removed from the joints by means of a cold chisel or hacksaw but this method ,isunsatisfactory asthe added metal is frequently toohard to be worked in this manner so that process is slow, expensive, and the result only partially zlsatisfactory. j

Therefore, one of the objects of'this invention is to provide a machine that will remove weld metal from rail joints in a quick, economical, and satisfactory manner. a

When the steel in railroad rails is hard enough to withstand the hammering of car wheels without deforming at the ends where the wheels strike the sharp corner of the rails it has been found that the impact of. the wheels frequently breaks portions from the upper corners of the rail ends thereby increasing the width of the joint to an undesirable extent. It has been found that by removing a small amount from the.

is prevented. Therefore, another object of thisinvention is to provide a machine for removing the upper corner of rail ends in a quick and economical manner. Other aims and objects of this inven- ;tion will be apparent from the drawings and the following description.

We attain the above mentioned objects of the upper corners of the rail ends that this breakage 40 a present invention by the apparatus shown in the The rail joint parting machine shown in the drawings may comprise a cradle A, a power'plant B in'the cradle A, and a flexible shaft C having an emery wheel mounted'on the freeend thereof,

and the fixed end thereof attaehed to thecradle 0 A-and arranged so that the power plant will drive the emery wheeltherethrough. I -Thercradle A may comprise two integral" analogous or similar u-shaped an'gleiro'n sections'or frame members 10 andll, having horizontalparallel bottom portions or sections lllaand 1111 respectively and upturned or uprising ends or legs 10b and 11b respectively. Secured to them) i turned ends .10?) and. 11bv by any convenient means such as the bolts 12' are two shackles 13am '14 0 that hold the sections 10 and 11 of the cradle A: sideby side so that the top of the sections wan 11 are closer together than the bottom. ear the center of the shackles 13 and 14, and extending upward from. the top of the upturned ends 10b and 111) are two l00ps13a. and 14a respectively, that en'circle a suitable length'of' ironpi'pe or bar '15, to which the 'loopsfl 3a and 14a, are clamped by the bolts 16. The pipe15 extends parallel tothe central plane of the cradle through '30 I i the shackles 13 and 14 beyondthe ends 101) and 11b of the-sections 10 and 11 andformsa handle by'whiehthe cradle may be carried. Secured tothe upturned ends of the sections 10 by means of the bolts;1'7 is a guard 18, and secured "to the 3 upturnedends of thesection 11 by meansofthe I bolts 19 is a guard 20 similar to the g'uard18.

Each; of the guards. 18 and 20 extend outward. j

from one of the uprising ends of one ,ofthe sections 10 r and 1 1 and thenacross and back to the other uprising end: of the same section therebyj preventing persons from coming in contact withthe sides of the powerrplant B that. is in thecradle and will be described presently.

Positioned in the cradle A and secured to the horizontal bottom portions 10a. and 1 1a thereof,

by any suitable means such as the bolts 21, is a self contained, portable, unitary, gasoline engine power'plant B. Thepower plant B may com- S prise a gasoline engine of the air cooledtype '100' having cooling fans, gasoline tank, carburetor,

muffler; and magneto, assembled in acornpactv portable unit. Other power plantsor sources of power may, however,-be used in place of that described andshown herein. J5

The flexible shaft Cv may comprisea flexible casingz l with a countershaft 25 attached ten-one end, and a spindle or handpiece zfi'attached-to. the other end. Secured .to oneofthe uprising ends 10?) and llb of each ofthe sections wand '11 vary-the tension of the driving belt to be described,

A set screw 28is threaded in the wall of later. the socket 23 so it may. be forced against thesupport 2'7 to hold it in any adjusted position in the It is understood, of course, that the support 27 may slide loosely in the socket 23 instead socket.

of being threaded therein, and the support may be clamped in the socket by means other than the set screw shown.

Secured to the outer end of the crankshaft of the power plant B is a V-belt cone pulley 29, and secured to the countershaft is another ll-belt cone pulley 3G. The socket 23 is positioned so it supports the countershaft 25 with the pulley attached thereto in alignment with the.

pulley 29 attached to the power plant' Upon the pulleys '29 and '30 is a V-belt 31. shaft in its complete form may comprise the countershaft 25, spindle 26, and the casing 24 with a shaft therein; Other flexible shaft assemof the spindle'26.

ly of iron or steel although as an'added precau- 'tion against wheel breakage we prefer those havblies may, howevenbe usedin place of the 'one described." Also, pulleys of other styles may be used as well as a belt that is different from that shown and described.

Mounted on'the spindle 26 at'the free end of i the flexible shaft 0 is an emery wheel 32. The

method of mounting is shown more clearly in Fig. 3.. In order to enter the joint between the adjoining ends "of railroad rails the emery wheel 32 must be quite thin. Thin emery wheels, especially when'held in the hand during use, are liable to frequent breakage. For the purpose of part-- ing rail joints wehave secured the best results and the least breakage from the use of a flexible grinding wheel one-eighth of an inch thick of 355' grit. I The emery wheel 32 is mounted on the "end of the spindle 26 between two washers 33 which are clamped against the emery wheel '32 by the nut 34' that is threaded to the outer .end

The washers 33 maybe entireing a layer of resilient material such as the rubber 35 on the sides in contactv with the emery wheel. The rubber 35 is preferably vulcanized to the,

metalwashers 33 so it will not become loosened under strain such as that imposed by the break- ]ing' of the emery wheel 32.

'should bethick enough to imbed in the porous surface of the emery wheel with suflicient pressure to prevent the pieces of the emery wheel, when broken, from being thrown out from between-the washers 33 by centrifugal force.

The rubber 35 Secured'to'the top of the shackle 14, by any suitable means such as-fusion welding, is' a holder 35 in which the free end of the flexible shaft may rest when not in use, and secured to I the free endof the flexible shaft and partially surrounding th emery wheel 32 is an emery wheel guard 37 of well'known' form.

' "The complete rail joint parting machine as shown may be transported along a railroad track on the usual workmens track car. It may be used while on the car or it maybe carried along the track from. joint to joint by means of the handle provided.

' The gasoline engine power plant-may be started The flexible .car that transports it along the track it may be by winding a piece of strong cord around the starting pulley 38 and then giving it a' quick pull thereby rapidly rotating the engine. After start ing, the power plant should require no further attention. r I

The speed of the emery wheel 32 may be varied relative to that of the power plant by changing the belt 31 from. one step to another of the cone pulleys 29 and 30. In'case the belt 31 is too tight toshift readily from one step to the other it may be loosened by first loosening the set screw 28 and then screwing the support 2? downward in the socket 23.. After the belt has been shifted it 'may be tightened by screwing the support 2'7 upward and then looking it in place by tightening the set screw 28 to preserve the setting, When the support 27 is screwed either up or down in the 1 socket 23 the handled set screw 39 should be loosened so the support 27 may rotatefreely in the countershaft 25 and then tightened after the 3;

adjustment is made to hold the pulley 30 en the countershaft in alignment with thepulley' 29 on the power plant;

The method of using the rail joint parting machine described herein for removing weld metal from rail joints and for'removingthe upper corner of rail endsis the same'in each case. The machine is taken to the joint to :be'-- operated upon and started. Then the face of the rapidly rotating emery wheel 32 is held against the metal to be removed until the desired amounthas been ground off. In practice it has been found that this machine removes weld metal from rail joints or the upper corner of rail ends in a rapidand economical manner regardless of the hardness lid of the metal. y

The machine has numerous advantages over those in use'heretofore. As it may be readily carried'by hand it may be placed in aposition where the work may be performed most advan-"l li tageously, such .as along side of the railroad track, where it need not be moved when a train passes. As it is entirely self-contained it may be used on roads that are not electrified and as it, it not dependent during its operation upon the left at one pointv to perform its operation while the cargoes to another part 'of;the.section. j

As the weightof the power unit is distributed centrally within the cradle it may be carried with V a minimum amount of inconvenience, and as it IS disposed within the outline of the cradlaa workman isnot liable to danger from contact with a moving part and-the machineis not liable to damage during handling. Also as the center of gravityis low and well within the outline of the bottom of the cradle it will rest on an uneven surface, without danger of becoming upset. 1

The fact that it may be positioned beside the railroad track when in use is of considerable imllZ'Sll portance' on roads where trains are frequent,

and the fact that it is entirely self-contained renders it applicable to other kinds cfwork besides that for which it isespecially adapted. M 7

Various equivalent units may be substituted"" for those shown and described hereinand the arrangement of the units maybe altered without departing from the inventionor sacrificing'any of the rights thereunder.

We claim: 1. In a portable grinding apparatus,- a power plant and power transmission means, a pair of similar frame members arranged in laterally spaced relation and provided with means, whereby they are connected at theirftops'and bottoms to provide a cradle substantially encompassing said power unit and powertransmission means and providing a support therefor, a grind-.

' ends, a power unit and power transmission means mounted on said members within and substantially encompassed by said cradle, a grinding tool, means providing a driving connection between said power transmission means and tool, and a carrying handle arranged longi-- tudinally of said cradle and connected with said frame members by the means joining the uping'said cradle and'the" parts carried thereby suspended position, said horizontal bottoms ar fording a support for said cra'dle'and parts when at rest.

3. In a rail joint parting machine, the combination of a portable cradle comprising a pair of substantially similar U-shaped members having their bottom sections parallel and spaced apart, and having their legs inclined toward a,

vertical plane between said sections; shackles connecting the legs at each end of said cradle; a carrying bar for said cradle in said plane and connected to said shackles; a power'unitmounted I ,within said cradle'and having the base member thereof connecting saidbottom sections; power,

turned ends thereof and adapted for transporttransmission means comprising a substantially f xed portion in said plane connected to said unit within said cradle and a flexible portion outside of said cradle; and arail parting grinding wheel secured to the free end of-said flexible portion.

SAMUEL ,OLDVHAIMJ, FRANK c. I HASSE. 

